How to Utilise Social Media to publicise your group
The Kingdom of Lochac is made up of many groups, each doing things that enrich the Kingdom and their members. Lochac would love to share to the world what we do, how amazing this Kingdom is and the people that make it so.
So how do you do this?
We need records to share! Specifically photos and clips which can be shared across Lochac’s Social platforms. Currently the Kingdom of Lochac uses Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube. Across these platforms are quite a few differences.
Technical information on Photos
On Facebook, please use a JPG or PNG file. For a cover photo for a group the picture must be 1920 x 1005 pixels; for a Facebook post the picture must be a minimum of 600 x 315 pix, but recommended to be 1200 x 630 pixels. Facebook profile photos are 170 x 170 pixels. Need a bit more information? Check out the Meta for Business post on Recommended minimum image pixel requirements across placements. The information for Instagram is also included in that link, but Instagram takes a maximum on 10 pictures per post.
On Twitter, a tweet can contain 4 pictures, a GIF, or a video. The photos can be in GIF, JPG or PNG format, 5MB for Mobile and up to 15MB on the desktop. Text can be included (recommended!) for up to 280 characters. This includes hashtags. For more information check out the Tweet Help centre.
Still unsure? Check out this cheat sheet.
technical information on Videos
Videos are a great way of showing how things happen. However, all the platforms are different again.
Facebook accept many different formats for videos, but recommended a MP4 or MOV format. The maximum length is 240 minutes long and size is up to 4GB.
Instagram needs the video to be recorded vertically, with 1,080 x 1,920 pixels and 30 fps (frames per second) to maximise video quality. Unless it is a purchased ad, the clip is a maximum of 60 seconds long, up to 4GB in size.
Twitter can take up to 140 seconds of video, otherwise it will need to be edited using their own editor. Maximum file size is 512MB. Twitter has a Help Page on the topic. Still only 280 characters can be used in the tweet.
YouTube are for videos only. If you create a clip of still photos it can be uploaded as a video to YouTube. Unverified accounts can only post clips for up to 15 minutes in length. Verified can post clips of up to 12 hours in length. If you would like to upload a clip to the Lochac YouTube channel please get in touch with the Lochac Social Media Officer on media@lochac.sca.org
So what does the Kingdom need to help publicise our group?
Good question! The more photos the merrier. While the number of photos that can be used across platforms is capped, the more there is the better the range to choose from.
However, this is where photo etiquette comes in. If there is a photo that you would be embarrassed to be in of another person, don’t share it. Only share a picture of a child so long as there is parental/guardian permission. All photos & videos across the platforms must conform to the Lochac SCA Code of Conduct as well as each platform’s Community Standards/Terms of Service.
So pictures of heavy/rapier/archery is good, delicious looking food, amazing arts and crafts and sciences, happy people having a wonderful time is good. In other words we show our Community Group in it’s best way. Each group is individual and showing off their best side should be a thing of pride.
However, the Social Media Officer can only use supplied photos and videos after the the relevant Google Form for release have been filled out. The form for the release is here.
Need a bit more of support? Check out the Society Seneschal Page about Social Media Resources as well as the Digital Scribes Program.